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The Jets come off like the pimply-faced teen unwilling to take no for an answer in their doomed search for a prom date. Calling candidates back and asking them to reconsider? That's a pungent whiff of desperation right there.

(We'll now give Jets fans the appropriate time to digest just how close you were to the Super Bowl two short years ago. Take however long you need. We'll be here.)

Though we didn't feel this sort of thing needed to be pointed out, it's intrinsically insane that a GM job in the NFL would be ignored. After all, there are only 32 of these gigs on the planet. Many a loyal team employee has gone to the grave without reaching the top rung of professional football's personnel ladder.

You can make the argument that the Jets' job is the best on the market right now. Seriously. Here's why:

» Rex Ryan is not a problem: Yes, you're stuck with him next year, but you'll have every right to kick him out the door if the team stumbles again. He's a built-in mulligan. And who knows, you might even learn to love the big galoot.

» Woody Johnson is not a problem: The Johnson era has been marked by some obvious grabs at the spotlight, but he doesn't strike us a man unable to listen to reason. Make good decisions and deliver results and even the most meddlesome of owners will back off.

» You can manage with Mark Sanchez for now: Like Ryan, you're only handcuffed to Sanchez for one year. Then again, is having Sanchez on the roster such a bad thing? Think about it: Say you select a QB early in the draft. Sanchez allows you the option to ease your hypothetical rookie hotshot into the lineup. If Sanchez somehow manages to turn his career around, great, maybe he has some trade value after all. If not, the future becomes now.

» There are some pieces on this roster: Darrelle Revis needs to get healthy (not to mention paid), but don't be surprised when the training camp stories surface about the star cornerback looking better than ever. Nick Mangold is a top-shelf center in his prime. Antonio Cromartie and David Harris are quality pieces to the puzzle. This is a roster that needs plenty of work, but let's not pretend an incoming GM is inheriting the 2008 Lions.

>Salary-cap hell is more like purgatory: ESPN reported the Jets are currently $19.4 million over the salary cap, the worst such figure in the league. But that instantly shrinks to $8.3 million when the team says goodbye to Bart Scott, Jason Smith and Calvin Pace, according to the New York Daily News. Yes we can!

» The bar for success remains shockingly low: The Jets haven't appeared in the Super Bowl since 1969. They're 0-4 in AFC Championship Games. They have exactly two AFC East titles in their history. If you can build a culture of winning, you're the second coming. Which reminds us ...

» There's no better place to win than New York: It's cliche but true. New York's a city and region that loves and remembers its winners. Bring the Lombardi back to Gang Green and you're practically knighted. You'll also never pay for another wing at the Hooters in East Rutherford, so there's that.

» Rex Ryan is not a problem: Yes, you're stuck with him next year, but you'll have every right to kick him out the door if the team stumbles again. He's a built-in mulligan. And who knows, you might even learn to love the big galoot.

» Woody Johnson is not a problem: The Johnson era has been marked by some obvious grabs at the spotlight, but he doesn't strike us a man unable to listen to reason. Make good decisions and deliver results and even the most meddlesome of owners will back off.

» The bar for success remains shockingly low: The Jets haven't appeared in the Super Bowl since 1969. They're 0-4 in AFC Championship Games. They have exactly two AFC East titles in their history. If you can build a culture of winning, you're the second coming. Which reminds us ...

Happen to disagree with all of those. But to each their own.

I think Woody wants stability at the HC position, he saw what the Giants did with Coughlin. He is going to try that with Rex. He needs to stop watching the Giants.

Woody is a good owner in the fact that he is willing to spend. But he has not spent wisely b.c he has hired the wrong people. Hopefully this GM search is proof that he is turning the corner.

This is NY. Rex is still the HC, he will say something stupid about the quality of the team and raise expectations.

Despite people wanting to believe it 1) You do not get a free pass in any year you are in charge so if you are hamstrung from making moves this year and things go sour it is on you. 2) These guys want to build and win, having to wait a full year before you can do what you want is not acceptable.

Some guys will want the job no matter what. Others that have a real choice will go elsewhere. In the end the problems the Jets have in place are preventing the very best guys from leaping after the job.

No matter who gets hired I will judge them very early on as to whether I think they have it or not by what they do up to the draft and then early June.

I think Woody wants stability at the HC position, he saw what the Giants did with Coughlin. He is going to try that with Rex. He needs to stop watching the Giants.

The reasoning behind your disagreement on this point really makes no sense.

First, Rex has 2 years left on his contract. If you think Woody values "stability" above all else, then he wouldve extended Rex. Woody didn't, which means that Rex could easily be fired after next season with only 1 year on his deal and the cost not being prohibitive.

Second, Coughlin was lame duck TWICE with the Giants. He got a contract extension after his final year of his contract, both being championship years. Coughlin was set to be let go both times if his teams didn't produce in the final years of his deals.

Thus, if Woody is really having "Giants-envy" then he would only extend Rex after the final year of his contract and only if the team had a good year. In that instance, the Jets job wouldn't be bad because Rex is here. He only stays if the team gets better with him as HC.

any GM candidate knows that this will be a two-year plan. 2013 will be used as a building block for 2014, when there'll be tons of cash to spend and tons of draft picks to use.

The problem is this Jonathan, with an incumbent coach who has a history of having favorites is the new Gm going to have the total freedom to come in and cut wood this off season? Or is he going to have Rex try and talk him out of cutting his fav players or making a tough but necessary decisions (such as perhaps not retaining Landry if he wants too much.)

The problem is this Jonathan, with an incumbent coach who has a history of having favorites is the new Gm going to have the total freedom to come in and cut wood this off season? Or is he going to have Rex try and talk him out of cutting his fav players or making a tough but necessary decisions (such as perhaps not retaining Landry if he wants too much.)

But there is a hard salary cap. The Jets MUST get under the cap by a certain date.

Rex can advocate for so long, but the new GM has to find the cuts from some place.

Despite people wanting to believe it 1) You do not get a free pass in any year you are in charge so if you are hamstrung from making moves this year and things go sour it is on you. 2) These guys want to build and win, having to wait a full year before you can do what you want is not acceptable.

Some guys will want the job no matter what. Others that have a real choice will go elsewhere. In the end the problems the Jets have in place are preventing the very best guys from leaping after the job.

No matter who gets hired I will judge them very early on as to whether I think they have it or not by what they do up to the draft and then early June.

Maybe you could be part of the process so we get the right guy and we don't have to wait for your evaluation.

But there is a hard salary cap. The Jets MUST get under the cap by a certain date.

Rex can advocate for so long, but the new GM has to find the cuts from some place.

Agreed, but as we have stated having Rex whisper in your year that we have to keep landry at all costs and we can't trade revis or cromartie could be an impediment to doing the right thing. thus my desire for a strong, hard ass Gm who will tell rex to step aside and coach who he is given. Perhaps this is why our early fav gm candidate had a 'bad interview'

Maybe you could be part of the process so we get the right guy and we don't have to wait for your evaluation.

I'm down with that, send me my plane ticket. I know we have a whole lot of people on this site that refuse to make a judgement on a player or a teams move until 4 years down the road when you have the answer.